FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Vernon Baker ~ July 26, 2010

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Vernon Baker

(Info found here.)

           

On Saturday, July 13th, another Medal of Honor recipient left us to guard the streets of heaven.  Thank you, sir, for your service to our country.

Vernon Joseph Baker (December 17, 1919 – July 13, 2010) was a United States Army officer who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. He was awarded the medal for his actions on April 5–6, 1945 near Viareggio, Italy, when he and his platoon killed 26 enemy soldiers and destroyed six machine gun nests, two observer posts and four dugouts. He was the only living black World War II veteran of the seven belatedly awarded the medal of honor when it was bestowed upon him by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1997.

Early life

Baker was born on December 17, 1919, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the youngest of three children. After his parents died in a car accident when he was four, he and his two sisters were raised by their grandparents. His grandfather Joseph S. Baker, a railroad worker in Cheyenne, taught him to hunt in order to feed the family and became "the most influential figure in Vernon's life." His relationship with his grandmother was much more strained, and he spent a few years at the Boys Town orphanage in Nebraska to be away from her.

Baker graduated from high school in his grandfather's hometown of Clarinda, Iowa. He then worked as a railroad porter, a job he despised, until his grandfather's death from cancer in 1939. A series of menial jobs followed until his enlistment in the U.S. Army in mid-1941. At his first attempt to enlist, in April 1941, he was turned away, the recruiter stating "We don't have any quotas for you people." He tried again weeks later with a different recruiter and was accepted; he requested to become a quartermaster but was instead assigned to the infantry.

 

Military service

Baker entered the Army on June 26, 1941, six months prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. He went through training at Camp Wolters, Texas, and after completing Officer Candidate School was commissioned as a second lieutenant on January 11, 1943.

In June 1944, Baker was sent to Italy with the all-black 92nd Infantry Division. He was wounded in the arm in October of that year, hospitalized near Pisa, and in December rejoined his unit in reserve along the Gothic Line. In early spring, 1945, his unit was pulled from the reserves and placed in active combat. On the morning of April 5, he participated in an attack on the German stronghold of Castle Aghinolfi. During the assault, Baker led his heavy weapons platoon through German defenses to within sight of the castle, personally destroying three machine gun nests, two observation posts, two bunkers, and a network of German telephone lines along the way. It was for these actions that he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.

After the end of the war, Baker remained in Europe with the Allied occupation forces until 1947. He later joined the Army Airborne forces and left the military in 1968 as a first lieutenant.

In 1993, a study commissioned by the U.S. Army described systematic racial discrimination in the criteria for awarding medals during World War II. At the time, no Medals of Honor had been awarded to black soldiers who served in World War II. After an exhaustive review of files, the study recommended that several black Distinguished Service Cross recipients have their awards upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II veterans; Baker was the only recipient still living at the time.

Baker's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, near Viareggio, Italy. Then Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying enemy installations, personnel and equipment during his company's attack against a strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked an enemy observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire. On the following night Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[oldteen]

Don’t push yourself too hard!

[BIGLOOK]

Aloha Doc!

All’s well over here (except for the current problems that seem to have no resolution......yet). Trying to be patient.

[oldteen]

God rest the souls of our fallen and prayers for their families.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[ConorMacNessa]

Keep your chin up, FRiend! We're all pulling for you and you're in our prayers!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[BIGLOOK]

The weather here is gorgeous as well....not like the weather reports I’ve heard on the news of east coast sweltering heat and humidity.

Paradise needs tourists to share it with.....and they ain’t here.

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER!

Cpl. Joe L. Wrightsman, USMC, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Died Afghanistan 18JUL2010

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

Eternal Father, Strong to Save



Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in peace!
We who remain hold you in high honor.
Rest, fallen brother, in this sacred precinct;
We who remain keep this place sacred.
Rest, fallen brother, among these, your comrades;
We who remain keep the watch.
Rest, fallen brother, amid these who heeded the Nation’s call;
We who remain press the fight forward in your name.
Rest, fallen brother, lay down thy burden;
We who remain have taken up the torch.
Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in eternal peace!



Taps

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And in first....Mac!!

[oldteen]

two and a half days working on my computer

Is it still acting up or did ya figger out the bug(s) that might be crawlin' around in it? That's waaaay more patience than I have. I'd have tossed it already!

[oldteen]

Mine?

[BIGLOOK]

Thanks Doc! And hoping you’re getting better too! Still on the prayer watch for you.

[ConorMacNessa]

We had 99 degrees today until T-storms roared through and cooled it down to about 75 - lots of power lines down - roads were chaotic on the way home this evening.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[PROCON]

Hey, I still got a young’un in the house, need to stay spry!..LOL.

[PROCON]

Mine?

You're getting pretty good with that.

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER!




Cpl. Matthew James Stenton, The Royal Dragoon Guards, KIA Afghanistan 21JUL2010



I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

Flowers of the Forest



Black Watch Piper

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke



Last Post

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And close behind....Pro is in second!!

[BIGLOOK]

The weather has always fascinated me....especially the way it’s reported.

Glad to hear it’s cooled off a bit so you can sit in the dark and enjoy it this evening. On the bright side, you won’t be getting any kapakai weather reports from the news.

[MountainDad]

***Might it keep him from deploying?***

Don't know. I won't hear from him until Tuesday. But knowing him, he won't "advertise" it.

He went through 4 IED/EFP's in Iraq and has sharpnel inside him, but won't say anything. He says he doesn't want to be away from "his guys".

I can respect that.

[Kathy in Alaska]

And rounding out the top 3....MountainDad!!

[ConorMacNessa]

We have power, but about a half mile down the road it's a different story. Lot of traffic lights out.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!